Should moderators have no say in the forums and be a silent police force of said forums?.I am not against moderators, as they are needed obviously, but on occassions, a post has been locked, when the majority of opinion has been different to a moderators in the post....

I've seen dozen of posts that moderators have taken part in and not agreed with the original poster and the thread stays open because even though there is a diference of opinion, it's a constructive, intelligent debate.

It's only when it turns personal and people start calling each other names and it goes off-topic completely that they shut them down.

Hmm, I just think moderators are as prone to human faults, as all of us are. In general I support having moderators...I just don't think they should be allowed to post their points of view on the forums. That is just my personal thoughts of course.

See as how they are human like any of us, have their opinions and are using their personal account to moderate, I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to post their opinion as any of us do.

If one did abuse his/her post, he/she wouldn't be in that positon long.

As KARR said, there have been any times a mod will sit there and have a debate with someone. It isn't untill things get out of and and rule violations start up that they take any form of action to lock a thread.

I've seen dozen of posts that moderators have taken part in and not agreed with the original poster and the thread stays open because even though there is a diference of opinion, it's a constructive, intelligent debate.

It's only when it turns personal and people start calling each other names and it goes off-topic completely that they shut them down.

So instead of removing the post(s) that supposedly 'do not fit the conversation', like has happened with many many other posts in that one topic I am thinking about right now, they simply lock down a topic and deny others the right to voice thier opinions too?

Reason not given but I can guess:The 'remove post' button was broken all of a sudden? LMFAO.

Anyway I do not want this topic to be muted too so it can sink down into oblivion, cause that is what has happened to the other one, so I will stay out of this one after hitting submit.Please forgive me for no further replying here even if being adressed personally.

Are the mods really that terrifying on STEAM. What is the point of a discussion forum if topics can be locked away that don't suit the 'thoughts and opinions' of the moderator. Understandably if certain RULES are broken that are statutory rules of the forum - OK. I hope that the guys looking down on us realise that opinions are vitally important in any discussion forum and if moderators wish to join in the discussion - put away your Prefects badge and join in.. Slam those that break rules...

I'm very, very curious as to why exactly this topic on the lawsuit for resale has suddenly, out of the blue, been locked.. IMNSHO we really need a moderator to post in the thread they are going to lock the reason for locking it, so we the users will have [a] an explanation, a warning of what not to do in the future, [c] something we might argue against in case it's unjust.

All i'm gonna say, is that a mod's name shouldn't be orange unless they are doing mod specific things. I feel it makes some members think the opinions expressed are those of Steam/Valve.

So when they are participating in discussions, name is like everyone elses, so no one knows they are a mod, and when they need to say something mod related they can do so, and be granted the authority of a mod.

Either that, or preface any post made 'from their position as mod' i.e. 'in function' with a tag like [MOD], that way at least the distinction is clear for everyone.

Downside to both methods is, that unless the users are aware of how they claim to be utilizing their status/function at a certain moment, they might misunderstand a 'personal opinion post' to be official. (so for example recognizing a mod's name/icon, even though it's not in orange, and presuming official; or seeing a mod post without ever having seen the tag [mod] in their posts, and presuming the same)

It can be a fine line when moderators powers are looked at. They have a place in the Valve/Steam set up that can be abused with ease and we have to trust them nilly willy.As I have said before; I support the concept of moderators...calamities on the forums could arise without them being there...I also support having a police force in society; but I don't want a cop sitting in my lounge 24/7. If I break the law/rules of society, then I expect them to intervene and so it is with moderators, in a much lesser way.There are bent cops in the world and no doubt bent moderators too; I think a small minority in both cases, happily.I have seen guys banned from the forums and thought at the time...WTF. I have seen posts locked and thought WTF, this does not mean I don't accept the moderators action, but it does mean I don't agree with the action.The thing about the power of the moderators is; that if I kick up a stink, chances are I will get banned for a period of time, or forever...this sort of takes away my inbuilt right to protest. :)

If a topic has intelligent back and forth then leave it open. But if it ends up with "this is right," "no that is wrong," "no it's right," "no it's wrong...." then close it. There is nothing left to say.

Threads that dissolve into name calling, politics, go off topic, a thread that has been started many times by the same person, threads that are in the wrong forum...all should be locked. I would go one further.....when someone posts, I have been hacked....the mod should type "Contact support..." Thread locked.

Inevitable those types of threads become, "i didn't do anything and I was hacked," "well you must have signed into something," "no the guy stole my info and i don't know how...i did not input my infformation into anything," "well you had to have, but contact support cause we are a forum and can do nothing for you," "well i contacted support and it's been 3 days, how long does it take," "weeks," "steam is bad.."

None of the Moderators on the team abuse their power in any kind of way. We've been here long enough and if we where abusing we wouldn't be Moderators any longer. We became Moderators because we showed that we cared for the forum and where active. We still do.

The Lawsuit thread got locked due to ChillChill derailing the thread with his legal pursuit. Also it's been going on long enough. I was there from the start and it went on for quite some time without a problem. Some users did break the rules and they got punished for it. Otherwise there wasn't much of a problem.

Also note that we Moderators have the right to close any thread we deem unworthy for the forum.